Heinz Janisch was born in Güssing, Austria. He studied German and journalism in Vienna. He has worked for Austrian radio since 1982 and is editor of the series Menschenbilder [Human Images]. He has published countless books for children of all ages and has been awarded many prizes, including the Austrian Prize for Books for Children and Young Adults, and the Bologna Ragazzi Award. He has also been nominated for the German Prize for Children’s Literature. Heinz now lives in Vienna and in Burgenland, Austria.

Lisbeth Zwerger has been accorded nearly every prize that can be given, including the highest international award for lifetime achievement, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Since 1981 she has devoted her extraordinary talents to children’s literature, to stories as charming and picturesque as her native Vienna. Always surprising, always engaging, her artwork combines technical mastery with an insight and gentleness so rare and captivating that she has been correctly called one of the finest illustrators of the twentieth century.